Electric toy gun

ABSTRACT

An electric toy gun having therein a power break control mechanism consisting of an actuator, a power break control set and a swinging block. When the clip is empty and when the trigger is pressed, the actuator is forced by a spring-loaded push rod at the bullet outlet of the clip to move the swinging block and the power break control set, causing a power break holder to be moved away from a power contact holder, and therefore power supply is disconnected, avoiding waste of power supply and component damage. The swivel rod of the power break control set has a lower rod portion. When pressed a reset button, a bottom portion of a third link of the actuator is forced downwardly against the lower rod portion of the swivel rod, returning the swivel rod to the normal front side low and rear side high position and to accurately complete the reset action.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to any reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to electric toy gun technology and more particularly, to an electric toy gun, which enables a swivel rod thereof to accurately return to its original state after reload bullets and pressed the reset button.

2. Description of Related Arts

In conventional electric toy guns, the power circuits keeps power on even if the clip is empty, wasting electricity and can cause component damage. U.S. Pat. No. 8,146,577, issued to the present inventor, discloses an electric toy gun with an improved power break control mechanism. This design can automatically breaks off power supply when the clip is empty.

However, the aforesaid power break control mechanism still has a minor drawback, and a problem may occur in a reset operation after reloading of the clip. According to this design, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the power break control block 201 of the power break control set 20 has a spring 202 mounted thereon for keeping the swivel rod 203 constantly in a front side low and rear side high position. However, due to limited gun body space, the wire diameter of the spring 202 is limited, in consequence, the elastic potential energy of the spring 202 is not large enough. When presses the reset button 10 as the swivel rod 203 is in horizontal, the spring power of the spring 202 may be insufficient to return the swivel rod 203 to the front side low and rear side high position. At this time, the user needs to turn the swivel rod 203 to the front side low and rear side high position using a tool. An improvement in this regard is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide an electric toy gun, which overcomes the technical program of the aforesaid prior art power break control mechanism, enabling the swivel rod to be accurately returned to the front side low and rear side high position when the reset button is pressed after the clip is empty.

To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, an electric toy gun of the present invention comprises a gearwheel set, a power break holder, a power contact holder, a trigger, a clip and a power break control mechanism. The gearwheel set comprises a first gearwheel. The first gearwheel provides a push rod. The power break holder comprises a stop rod. Further, the power break holder is capable of returning to its former position after having been moved forward. The power break holder is electrically connected with the power contact holder to cause rotation of the gearwheel set when it is moved forwards. The trigger comprises a protrusion. When presses the trigger, the protrusion will be forced to move the power break holder forwardly into electric connection with the power contact holder. The clip comprises a bullet outlet, and an automatically upwardly returnable spring-loaded push rod disposed at the bullet outlet. The spring-loaded push rod has a side protrusion.

The power break control mechanism comprises an actuator, a power break control set and a swinging block. The actuator comprises a first link, a second link and a third link. The second link is coupled between the first link and the third link. The third link comprises a bearing portion and a reset button. The power break control set comprises a swivel rod and a power break control block. The swivel rod has a middle part thereof coupled to a front end of the power break control block, and is normally kept in a front side low and rear side high position. The swivel rod comprises an upper rod portion at a front side thereof. The power break control block comprises an elongated slot coupled to a fixed guide rod, and a beveled edge sloping downwardly forwards. The first link of the actuator is forced by the side protrusion of the spring-loaded push rod to move the second link and the third link when the clip is empty. The bearing portion of the third link pushes the upper rod portion of the swivel rod to move the swivel rod to horizontal and to have a rear side of the swivel rod be moved to one lateral side of the swinging block when the third link is moved with the second link by the side protrusion of the spring-loaded push rod. The push rod is forced to push the swinging block in moving the swivel rod and the power break control block upon rotation of the gearwheel set. The beveled edge of the power break control block forces the stop rod of the power break holder to bias the power break holder and to further disengage the power break holder from the constraint of the protrusion of the trigger in breaking off the power supply upon movement of the power break control block. The swivel rod further comprises a lower rod portion disposed at the front side thereof below the upper rod portion. The third link comprises a bottom portion. The bottom portion is pressed on the lower rod portion of the swivel rod to turn the swivel rod to the front side low and rear side high position when the reset button of the third link is pressed.

Further, the power break control block has a spring loaded thereon for keeping the swivel rod in the front side low and rear side high position.

Further, the swinging block comprises a pivot hole coupled to a first pivot inside the electric toy gun for enabling the swinging block to be turned about the first pivot, and an arched hole coupled to a second pivot inside the electric toy gun to limit the turning angle of the swinging block about the first pivot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a power break control set for electric toy gun according to the prior art design.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plain view of a conventional electric toy gun, illustrating the state of the swivel rod after reset of the electric toy gun.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plain view of a part of an electric toy gun embodying the present invention (the clip has toy bullets therein).

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a power break control mechanism for electric toy gun in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plain view of a part of an electric toy gun in accordance with the present invention, illustrating the status of the power break control mechanism when the clip is empty.

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing the beveled edge of the break block forced forwards against the stop rod of the power break holder and the power break holder moved away from the trigger (I).

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing showing the beveled edge of the break block forced forwards against the stop rod of the power break holder and the power break holder moved away from the trigger (II).

FIG. 8 corresponds to FIG. 7, illustrating the power break holder returned to its former position.

FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing illustrating the reset button pressed and the swivel rod returned to its former position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 3, a power break control mechanism A is shown installed in the gun body of an electric toy gun. The electric toy gun comprises a gearwheel set B, a power break holder C, a power contact holder D, a trigger E and a clip F (see FIG. 4 for the power break holder C and the power contact holder D). The gearwheel set B includes a first gearwheel B1 having a gear sector B11 for moving a piston set G. The first gearwheel B1 has a push rod B12. The trigger E has a protrusion E1. When presses the trigger E, the protrusion E1 is forced to move the power break holder C forwards into contact with the power contact holder D, thereby connecting power supply (see FIG. 4) and moving the gearwheel set B. Further, the power break holder C can be returned to its former position automatically. Further, the power break holder C has a stop rod C1 (see FIG. 4). Further, the clip F has a bullet outlet F1 and a spring-loaded push rod F2 pivotally connected to a part thereof near the bullet outlet F1. The spring-loaded push rod F2 has a side protrusion F21.

The power break control mechanism A comprises an actuator 1, a power break control set 2 and a swinging block 3 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

The actuator 1 comprises a first link 11, a second link 12 and a third link 13. The second link 12 is coupled between the first link 11 and the third link 13. When the clip F is empty, the spring-loaded push rod F2 is moved upwards to force the side protrusion F21 against the first link 11 of the actuator 1, thereby moving the second link 12 and the third link 13 (see FIG. 5). Further, the third link 13 comprises a bearing portion 131, a reset button 132 and a bottom portion 133 (see FIG. 4). The reset button 132 extends to the outside of the electric toy gun. Further, when the side protrusion F21 is kept away from the first link 11 of the actuator 1, the first link 11, the second link 12 and the third link 13 are returned to their former positions.

The power break control set 2 comprises a swivel rod 21 and a power break control block 22 (see FIG. 4). The swivel rod 21 has the middle part thereof pivotally connected to the front part of the power break control block 22 for displacement with the power break control block 22. The swivel rod 21 comprises an upper rod portion 211 and a lower rod portion 212 disposed at a front side thereof. Further, the power break control block 22 has a spring 23 mounted thereon for keeping the swivel rod 21 normally in a front side low and rear side high status (see FIG. 3).

When the side protrusion F21 of the spring-loaded push rod F2 touches the first link 11 of the actuator 1 (see FIG. 5), the bearing portion 131 of the third link 13 is forced to push the upper rod portion 211 of the swivel rod 21 of the power break control set 2, biasing the swivel rod 21 to the position where the rear end of the swivel rod 21 reaches one lateral side of the swinging block 3. Further, the power break control block 22 has an elongated slot 221 and a beveled edge 222 (see FIG. 4). A guide rod 223 is fixedly mounted inside the gun body and inserted through the elongated slot 221. The beveled edge 222 slopes downwardly forwards and is disposed below the stop rod C1 of the power break holder C (see FIG. 6). Further, the swivel rod 21 is constantly kept in a downwardly forwardly sloping position before upward movement of the spring-loaded push rod F2 of the clip F to force the side protrusion F21 against the actuator 1 (see FIG. 2). When the side protrusion F21 touches the actuator 1, the swivel rod 21 is turned from the forwardly downwardly sloping position to a horizontal position to lower the rear end thereof to one lateral side of the swinging block 3 (see FIG. 5).

The swinging block 3 has a pivot hole 31 and an arched hole 32. The pivot hole 31 is pivotally coupled to a pivot 33 that is fixedly mounted in the gun body of the electric toy gun. Further, the swinging block 3 is spring loaded for automatic return after being biased. The arched hole 32 is coupled to a pivot 34, which limits the swinging angle of the swinging block 3. During rotation of the first gearwheel B1, the push rod B12 biases the swinging block 3 forwards to push the swivel rod 21 of the power break control set 2 (see FIG. 6), thereby causing the power break control block 22 to be moved with the swivel rod 21. Due to the constraint of the pivot 223, the power break control block 22 is moved horizontally at this time. Further, when the swinging block 3 pushes the power break control set 2 forwards, the beveled edge 222 of the power break control block 22 is forced against the stop rod C1 of the power break holder C, moving the power break holder C away from the protrusion E1 of the trigger E (see FIG. 7), thus the power break holder C is released from the constraint of the trigger E and returned backwards to its former position away from the power contact holder D, thereby breaking off power supply (see FIG. 8).

When presses the trigger E, the protrusion E1 pushes the power break holder C forwards into contact with the power contact holder D to connect power supply, causing the gearwheel set B to rotate. If the clip F has toy bullets therein at this time, the side protrusion F21 of the spring-loaded push rod F2 of the clip F will not touch the actuator 1 (see FIG. 3). If the clip F is empty at this time, the side protrusion F21 of the spring-loaded push rod F2 of the clip F will touch and move the first link 11 of the actuator 1, causing the bearing portion 131 of the third link 13 to be moved upwards against the upper rod portion 211 of the swivel rod 21 of the power break control set 2, and therefore the rear end of the swivel rod 21 will be lowered to one lateral side of the swinging block 3 (see FIG. 5). When the first gearwheel B1 is rotated to the position where the push rod B12 pushes the swivel rod 21 of the power break control set 2, the power break control block 22 is moved with the swivel rod 21 to force the beveled edge 222 against the stop rod C1 of the power break holder C, thereby lifting the rear side of the power break holder C away from the protrusion E1 of the trigger E (see FIGS. 6 and 7; power control holder D is not shown in FIGS. 6 and 7). Thereafter, the power break holder C is returned to its former position, and moved away from the power contact holder D to break off power supply (see FIG. 8). Thus, when the clip F is empty, power supply will be automatically broken off.

Further, a reset button 132 is located on the third link 13 of the actuator 1 (see FIGS. 4 and 9). The reset button 132 extends out of the gun body of the electric toy gun. When presses the reset button 132 as the swivel rod 21 of the power break control set 2 is kept in horizontal after reloaded toy bullets, the bottom portion 133 of the third link 13 is forced downwardly against the lower rod portion 212 of the swivel rod 21 to return the swivel rod 21 to the normal front side low and rear side high status (see the change between FIGS. 8 and 9). At this time, the spring 23 assists the reset, and thus the power break control mechanism A is returned to the initial bullet-loaded status.

As stated above, the matching arrangement of the power break control mechanism A, the push rod B12, the stop rod C1 and the side protrusion F21 enables the electric toy gun to automatically break off power supply when the clip of the electric toy gun is empty, avoiding power waste and component damage. Subject to the arrangement of the lower rod portion 212 of the swivel rod 21, the swivel rod 21 can be accurately returned to the normal front side low and rear side high status after the reset button 132 is pressed. Thus, the invention effectively eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art design.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric toy gun comprising: a gearwheel set comprising a first gearwheel, said first gearwheel comprising a push rod; a power break holder comprising a stop rod, said power break holder being capable of returning to a former position after being moved forwards; a power contact holder movable forward to electrically connect said power contact holder for causing said gearwheel set to rotate; a trigger comprising a protrusion, said trigger being operable to force the protrusion thereof in moving said power break holder into electrical contact with said power contact holder; a clip comprising a bullet outlet and an automatically returnable spring-loaded rod located at said bullet outlet, said spring-loaded push rod comprising a side protrusion; a power break control mechanism comprising an actuator, a power break control set and a swinging block, said actuator comprising a first link, a second link and a third link linked to one another, said second link being coupled between said first link and said third link, said third link comprising a bearing portion and a reset button, said power break control set comprising a swivel rod and a power break control block, said swivel rod having a middle part thereof coupled to a front end of said power break control block and being normally kept in a front side low and rear side high position, said swivel rod comprising an upper rod portion at a front side thereof, said power break control block comprising an elongated slot coupled to a fixed guide rod and a beveled edge sloping downwardly forwards, said first link of said actuator being forced by said side protrusion of said spring-loaded push rod to move said second link and said third link when said clip is empty, said bearing portion of said third link pushing said upper rod portion of said swivel rod to move said swivel rod to horizontal and to have a rear side of said swivel rod be moved to one lateral side of said swinging block when said third link is moved with said second link by said side protrusion of said spring-loaded push rod, said push rod being forced to push said swinging block in moving said swivel rod and said power break control block upon rotation of said gearwheel set, said beveled edge of said power break control block forcing said stop rod of said power break holder to bias said power break holder and to further disengage said power break holder from the constraint of the protrusion of said trigger in breaking off the power supply upon movement of said power break control block; wherein said swivel rod further comprises a lower rod portion disposed at the front side thereof below said upper rod portion; said third link comprises a bottom portion, said bottom portion being pressed on said lower rod portion of said swivel rod to turn said swivel rod to the front side low and rear side high position when said reset button of said third link is pressed.
 2. The electric toy gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein said power break control block has a spring loaded thereon for keeping said swivel rod in the front side low and rear side high position.
 3. The electric toy gun as claimed in claim 2, wherein said swinging block comprises a pivot hole coupled to a first pivot inside the electric toy gun for enabling said swinging block to be turned about said first pivot and an arched hole coupled to a second pivot inside the electric toy gun to limit the turning angle of said swinging block about said first pivot. 